Parshat Va'era from the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, discussing the obligation to strengthen oneself in joy as the correct path in serving Hashem specifically, and for physical and mental health in general.

In Parshat Va'era, Moshe Rabbeinu brings the tidings of the Geulah (Redemption) to the People of Israel. He calls upon them to rejoice, sing, and play music, out of the belief that this is the way to bring about true redemption. The Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, based on the teachings of the Noam Elimelech and Rebbe Nachman, deepens this concept and teaches us about the power of joy in serving Hashem and in daily life, even during times of difficulty and decline.

These are his holy words:

"But they did not listen to Moshe because of shortness of breath and hard work" (Exodus 6:9)

Moshe Rabbeinu arrived in Egypt and said, "Gentlemen, Hashem has revealed Himself to me! The Geulah is about to happen—start rejoicing, start singing, start playing music! The time has come for dancing and songs. Bring orchestras, bring violins, bring flutes; start singing about the news of the Redemption." "But they did not listen to Moshe because of shortness of breath and hard work." Rebbe Nachman says in Torah 86: "Those of little faith are in the aspect of 'shortness of breath'... because they are of little faith, they therefore require hard labors and fasts." Those who are in the aspect of "shortness of breath," lacking the perfection of Emunah (faith), tend toward self-mortification and fasting.

The Noam Elimelech explains that this was the debate between Moshe and the Tzaddikim (righteous ones) of that generation. Moshe said, "Stop with the fasts and self-afflictions! Stop the hard labors! Start rejoicing, singing, and playing music!" In truth, from the beginning of the servitude, the People of Israel did not remain silent; the Tzaddikim did not remain silent. The Tzaddikim fasted, wept, and sat on the ground. They saw children being thrown into the Nile every day, children being slaughtered daily and placed within the walls, Pharaoh bathing in the blood of infants. No one remained silent; everyone fasted, wept, and afflicted themselves to bring the Geulah. Moshe came and told them, "Gentlemen, this is not the way! You want to fast? You can fast, but it will not bring the Redemption. With fasts and self-afflictions, one does not hasten the Geulah. The Geulah will arrive only through joy!"

They said to him, "What? Are you proposing a new path in serving Hashem? Do you want to take away our fasts and self-afflictions after we have been fasting for years upon years, starving and afflicting ourselves?" But they did not listen to Moshe due to "shortness of breath and hard work"—out of sheer despair, out of impatience, out of the burden of hard labor. They were incapable of shaking off the despair to believe in hope, to believe in the Geulah. Moshe said: The time has come to serve Hashem through joy, through tremendous joy. Only joy will subdue the klipah (shell of impurity); only joy will bring the Geulah.

The Noam Elimelech says that the Tzaddikim who seek out hard labors and fasts possess a soul of great value—not just an ordinary soul—but they do not see what the Tzaddikim who are in the aspect of Moshe see. For the true Tzaddik nullifies the harsh decrees with the utmost ease. He needs no effort, no self-afflictions, no fasts. He nullifies the judgments with joy, with melodies, and with songs.

The world is mistaken. A person thinks that to merit salvation and to sweeten judgments, one needs hard labors, fasts, etc. In reality, the Baal Shem Tov already completely annulled the practice of fasting and hard labors. This is what Rebbe Nachman means when he says that the world does not believe that it is possible to merit salvation and sweeten all the judgments in the world through joy.

There are several levels in the "Image of God." There is a level of the Image of God where a person lives in the present, rejoices with the present, and is always happy. This is level one, the primary level of the Image of God. There is, of course, a level of the Image of God in perfection, where one must know the Torah, the Mitzvot, and the laws. But first and foremost, one needs the first level: to begin knowing what the "present" is, to start learning how to live now, how to rejoice now. To be happy every moment and second, to feel the present—only the present—and not to think about anything from the past or the future. You are here now, alive, healthy, breathing? Then rejoice! Be happy! Joy without any thought of what will be or what was. This is "Who is rich? He who rejoices in his lot" (Avot 4:1). Rejoicing every moment, every second. You aren't being beaten? You have a cup of tea? What more do you need? What are you missing? You are thirsty, so drink; you are hungry, make yourself a slice of bread. Feel good! Feel happy! Feel blissful! Do not worry about what was, do not worry about what will be. Be at the peak of happiness. In this way, you will receive everything. The moment a person lives in the present, he fulfills "Who is rich? He who rejoices in his lot," and from this joy, he will receive everything—all the salvations—and reach all the spiritual heights in the world.

The test of a Jew is to be happy always. This is the main test, because everyone must go through trials, descents, and ascents until the end of their life. The main strengthening in joy is specifically during the time of a descent, during the time of a test, believing that one will emerge from the descent.

There is a shocking story, a tremendous story in Kochavei Or, about a man who dug and found a diamond worth a million dollars. He thought it was a piece of glass. Someone came and told him, "This is a diamond! It is worth a fortune!" But there was no one in the village or the entire country who could buy the diamond from him. Therefore, he decided to travel to London. He sold his house, all his rags, and broken furniture, but the money was only enough to reach the port. When he arrived, a ship captain found him and asked, "Why are you wandering around here?" He replied, "I have a precious stone, a diamond," and showed him the diamond. The captain was astounded. He said to him, "If you have such a thing, board the ship immediately. You don't need money; don't pay anything." He arranged a luxurious room, a magnificent bed, and three meals a day for him.

One day on the ship, he sat down to eat and looked at the diamond, delighting in it. Suddenly, he dozed off and fell asleep for a second. The waiter entered, cleared the table with the diamond along with all the dirt and scraps, took everything, and shook it into the sea. When he woke up, he went into shock; he almost fainted, his heart stopped working. He knew that if the captain found out what happened, he would throw him off the ship—throw him into the sea after the diamond. The Jew then decided that he must strengthen himself in joy with all his might, with superhuman strength. He strengthened himself with all his power to rejoice and smile. Five minutes later, the captain entered. The Jew gave him such a smile, started laughing and dancing; he made such gestures of joy that he became the happiest man. The captain had never seen him so happy.

In truth, the Jew knew he could only maintain this joy, this bliss, for a short time; soon his heart would stop beating. But when the captain saw him so happy, he said to him, "Let's make a deal. Everyone thinks I am a pirate. When I arrive in London, everyone investigates me regarding the source of my merchandise. Therefore, you are a compassionate Jew; come have mercy on me. The entire ship, with all the merchandise, with all the gold and diamonds—everything will be in your name. I trust you; you are a great merchant, successful, and you have a diamond here worth a lot." He registered everything in the Jew's name. They had just arrived at the port, and even before they disembarked from the ship, the captain suffered a stroke and died. All the property on the ship, all the millions, all the gold—everything passed into the possession of the Jew.

Rebbe Nachman revealed a completely new insight: Know that there is no despair in the world at all! There is no such thing as despair. Even in the greatest disaster, even in the greatest crisis, if a person holds on for five minutes—rejoicing, dancing, singing—then everything flips to the good. One must always come home with a smile, always come home with joy. At home, they do not need to know that you are currently in trouble or in a crisis. If you cannot smile or rejoice, sit outside on the stairs and practice smiling, make gestures of joy, train yourself—and then enter the house with a happy face, with a shining face.

If a person holds on and rejoices, he can merit all the miracles in the world. A person's entire work is to rejoice with all his strength, with mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice), to say constantly, "Everything is for the best." This is his test. If he says "This too is for the best" about everything, he will emerge from all the suffering in the world; he will have miracles and wonders. A person needs to rejoice, sing, and thank Hashem always before a trouble arrives, Heaven forbid. Do not wait for a trouble to occur and then be released from it—at which point, once released, one is obligated to thank, sing, and bring a Thanksgiving Offering. Rather, let us always rejoice, always sing to Hashem, always recognize Hashem's greatness. "Let every soul praise God" (Psalm 150:6)—let every breath praise Hashem. You are breathing? Start rejoicing! For every single breath, one must sing. Do not wait for trouble, because if you rejoice, sing to Hashem, and thank Hashem, then troubles will not arrive either.

The main work is not to be in sadness even for a single second, because there is no reason whatsoever to be sad. One must believe that every Jew is capable of attaining all good in material and spiritual matters, every success in the world. There is a concept of rejoicing in "He has not made me a gentile," that He made me a Jew—Baruch Hashem, I merited to keep Shabbat, I merited to put on Tefillin! Rejoice that you merited to pray; it is as if you found a diamond worth millions. One must always draw joy upon oneself, endless joy. If you don't know what to be happy about? We need to rejoice that Hashem created us as Godly beings; this is the greatest joy.

"Let Israel rejoice in its Maker; let the children of Zion delight in their King" (Psalm 149:2). Let us rejoice with Hashem, that Hashem created us. "And we are His people and the flock of His pasture." Hashem created us for His honor. "Blessed is He, our God, who created us for His honor and separated us from those who go astray." Let us rejoice that Hashem created us for His honor, so that we may learn and pray, so that the whole world will see, so that all the nations will see that the weapon of the Jew is Torah and prayer. Since Hashem sees us in true joy, that we are happy with Him, He will then annul all the decrees, all the troubles. So what is left for you? Start rejoicing in Hashem! Rejoice with Hashem, only with Hashem! With Hashem, you can rejoice! He is Living and Enduring. Hashem is eternal. Hashem loves you. Hashem created you. Hashem believes in you. Hashem believes in your teshuvah (repentance). He will never leave you; He will give you everything.